The opposition and members of the parliamentary majority on Friday endorsed a bill ratifying an agreement between Croatia and Israel on cooperation in public security, warning that cyber crime is a growing threat to citizens and the economy and underlining the need to protect personal data.

The State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, Zarko Katic, said that cooperation between Croatia and Israel in the fight against crime is very successful but that in recent years the need has arisen to expand it in the area of fighting crime and ensuring public security.

He explained that the agreement regulates matters such as the competent bodies, additional fields and forms of cooperation in fighting crime and ensuring public security, cyber crime, witness protection, and the exchange of information and personal data.

The agreement was signed in September 2019 by Croatian Minister of the Interior Davor Bozinovic and then Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.

MP Marijana Petir, a member of the HDZ caucus, said that cyber crime is a growing threat to citizens and the economy and to the development of a successful single digital market, noting that in the years to come threats like cyber terrorism and hybrid threats could grow.

MP Bojan Glavasevic of the Green-Left Bloc said that cooperation in the fight against cyber crime is very important, notably with countries capable of developing highly sophisticated and advanced technology, but he noted that one should also bear in mind the need to protect human rights and citizens’ right to privacy.

He therefore put forward an amendment to oblige the body in charge of implementing the agreement to make an assessment, prior to the procurement of equipment and services, of the effect of the use of that equipment and services on respect for human rights, as well as conduct a proportionality test to define under which terms related to human rights individual equipment and services can be used in the country.